[spookymulder84]

Hi everybody! In my teen years I've been crazy for headphones but very limited to what I could get at that time. Now I got reminded of the times so I want to fulfill those dreams I had : ).
I hope I'll be able to express what I'm looking for properly, though even I'm not exactly sure what I want.

-----My (humble) 10 years worth of headphones experiences-----

- Presonus HD7 (Superlux HD 681?) and DACs/Amps
10 years ago I bought first note-worthy headphones and those were Presonus HD7 (which are suspiciously very similarly looking to Superlux HD 681). I got them instead of the Shure SRH440 which I craved for based on the experiences I read on internet about them, but my parents friend that works at a local radio station said everything is crap compared to Presonus HD7 that are "cheap yet as good as 200€ headphones"... They cost me 35€ in the end, and here they are still serving me as a daily desktop PC driver for all these years.

You can imagine how dissapointed I was at first when I plugged them into a PC motherboard... Bass was absolutely non existent... After that I shelled out 20€ (wow, so much money, worried parents...) for a Xonar DG sound card which could kick some power in because it had an amp.. And that lasted for a while. I saw there were mods for the Superlux HD 681 so I soldered some capacitor and a coil inside, I don't remember which ones were it and stuff but I suppose the highs were at least not as bright anymore.

After that my father got some Marantz amplifier for speakers and I realized it had a good headphones output so I ended up using that for a while. And finally later on I got a Fiio E10k hoping for some better sound.

And here they are, still using Fiio E10k with Presonus HD7, 10 years of daily driving on my desktop PC, still working and giving some good sounds. For 35€, I might as well consider that they were free.

- Sennheiser HD 205 II
I didn't have them for long, I kinda liked them. I always liked and still like to hear the bass kicks, but I also appreciate clear music instead of mud I remember listening through those. It was 6-7 years ago so I can't really tell for sure. I sold them away.

- Grado SR80e
I got Grado SR80e as a present from my parents friend... You can imagine the joy! I loved them and used them frequently, now from time to time I get them out and listen to some not bass demanding stuff with them.

- Sony WH1000XM3
Even though I never owned them I did borrow them couple of times so I do have experience with them. All the features, ANC and bluetooth are great and very convenient but I can live without those. They seemed to me as a best fit to what I usually listen to. I liked the kicks, the bass itself, higher tones and vocals still being clean even while bass was in the background... But I do believe there are wired alternatives that can do better than that. Not all vocals sounded as great in all the music, some vocals had amazing power and pureness while others were on the muddy side.

- Audio Technica M50x
I tried them once on random, don't know what setup it was or what music it was, but I wasn't so impressed

-----What I want to listen on a new pair of headphones-----
Louder than average. Rich bass with nice kicks while still giving the lead to the vocals.
And since I don't know how to express myself into more detail, here's some of the stuff I'd like to listen to:
Female vocals: REOL, Aurora, Data Romance, Soosh, Sawano Hiroyuki, Skyclad Observer
Male vocals: Linkin Park, Nothing More, The Score, Woodkid
Soundtracks: Inception, Interstellar
ExYu: Riblja Čorba, Edo Maajka
Aftermath - The way You Are
Remixes
Chillhop

-----Headphone Requirements-----
- Availability in Croatia or on amazon.de (though ofc I can check the availability myself)
- Driveable by Fiio E10k DAC (I already own it... or give me a very good reason to buy a better DAC since I don't know how good Fiio E10k actually is)
- Optimal budget: 150€
- Stretch out budget: 250€

-----What I'm currently considering-----
Even though I have no real idea whether I'm looking into the right direction considering everything I said, my current ideas are:
- SRH840(A)
SRH440 were my old wish from teen years but I suppose SRH840 (or SRH840A) would be a more concrete choice. I've seen many praises, including Head-fi Buying Guide and crinacle's list.
- AKG K612 PRO
Praised on crinacle's list, some good reviews

-----If it matters-----
I can't hear above 15kHz but I can differentiate 2 very close pitched tones. I usually can't tell the difference in (well encoded) MP3 files above 128Kbps, and sometimes not even from the 128Kbps itself. I suppose it's because it's mostly just high frequency cutoff in compression (which I can't hear anyway). I usually keep all the music in MP3 V0 and FLAC though.

-----THE END-----
Some irrelevant info, some relevant... yet I hope I'll get some recommendations from you!
Thank you, I'll appreciate any and every amount of help you give me !

 

[msing539]

The Philips Fidelio X2HR is 130 for you. It has good bass, a nice soundstage, and a good upper end for its price.

I don't see the HD6XX on your Amazon or know if Drop shops there, but they're not bad--some folks love them. The strong point is definitely the mid-range. I personally prefer the Philips over these.

Beyond your budget, I'd recommend the Sundara. Not incredibly hard to drive but they benefit from a little power. There are more inexpensive Hifiman headphones but I have no experience with them.

 

[earmonger]

The AKG 612 will probably need an amp and they have a non-detachable cable. But they are low-priced in Europe, which is a plus.

Another one you might look at is ATH-R70X : open back, big soundstage, super comfortable, won't blast the bass but can go WAY down (5 Hz) when needed. Lots of reviews on Head-Fi and elsewhere because they have been around a while. I don't know if they are over your budget. The cable is detachable but there are not many replacements available; still, you could replace a broken cable if that happened.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/audio_tec...illa&utm_medium=psm&utm_campaign=shopzilla-gb

 

[Kevbo]

if you're looking for closed back headphones around $250 ish range you can probably find a pair of Beyerdyanmic DT 177x GO. I bought these for $240 used and am absolutely blown away by the bass response. Super punchy and some songs can even shake the cups haha.

I can also recommend the Sundara as one of the above posts mentioned, they drive well with my fiio e10k that I have laying around. Add in some EQ with them and the planar punchy pass is great

 

[spookymulder84]

The Philips Fidelio X2HR is 130 for you. It has good bass, a nice soundstage, and a good upper end for its price.

I don't see the HD6XX on your Amazon or know if Drop shops there, but they're not bad--some folks love them. The strong point is definitely the mid-range. I personally prefer the Philips over these.

Beyond your budget, I'd recommend the Sundara. Not incredibly hard to drive but they benefit from a little power. There are more inexpensive Hifiman headphones but I have no experience with them.

Yes, the Philips Fidelio X2HR (130€) is what I see being recommended in the description of a Youtube video as a Sony XM3 replacement. I will seriously consider them, and they're in the budget.

Would the Philips Fidelio X3 (200€) be worth the 70€ price difference? Or maybe they're actually not even that much better than the X2HR?

The Sennheiser HD6XX are 450€, barely available and don't ship to my location, yikes... Yeah, I'm sad Drop stuff ain't available here really.

Sundara (350€) is something I will consider, either now or in some distant future, whether or not I get cheaper headphones now. They look really nice!!

The AKG 612 will probably need an amp and they have a non-detachable cable. But they are low-priced in Europe, which is a plus.

Another one you might look at is ATH-R70X : open back, big soundstage, super comfortable, won't blast the bass but can go WAY down (5 Hz) when needed. Lots of reviews on Head-Fi and elsewhere because they have been around a while. I don't know if they are over your budget. The cable is detachable but there are not many replacements available; still, you could replace a broken cable if that happened.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/audio_tec...illa&utm_medium=psm&utm_campaign=shopzilla-gb

So you're saying that AKG 612 would be somewhat quiet when driven by Fiio E10k? Yes, they are quite cheap, I can get them in a national store for 130€.
I've heard very good things about ATH-R70X (350€), but yeah it's over my budget.
Edit: now I realize that the site you linked to ships to Croatia... and free for 200€+ orders! The headphones are 300€ there... Still a bit much but at least this is getting me better chances!

if you're looking for closed back headphones around $250 ish range you can probably find a pair of Beyerdyanmic DT 177x GO. I bought these for $240 used and am absolutely blown away by the bass response. Super punchy and some songs can even shake the cups haha.

I can also recommend the Sundara as one of the above posts mentioned, they drive well with my fiio e10k that I have laying around. Add in some EQ with them and the planar punchy pass is great

Beyerdyanmic DT 177x GO are unavailable here, and would be very expensive to get them overseas with all the shippings and taxes.
And yeah, Sundara... I really like how they look and they seem promising considering you two have already recommended them to me, but that will be a choice for another day.

-----------------

Thank you guys for the recommendations!
Right now the lead is taken by the Philips Fidelio X2HR, though I can't say that my mouth isn't watering looking at the Sundara. If I really decide to reach deep into the pocket I'll get them but Philips are a more likely candidate now.

 

[msing539]

Thank you guys for the recommendations!
Right now the lead is taken by the Philips Fidelio X2HR, though I can't say that my mouth isn't watering looking at the Sundara. If I really decide to reach deep into the pocket I'll get them but Philips are a more likely candidate now.

You're very welcome! The X2HR is superior to the X3, in my opinion.

The Sundara is worth the splurge--it's incredible for its price.

If you're open to used, the Sundara can be had for ~$250. And it's generally available open box direct from Hifiman for $300.

Not sure about the used market in Croatia or pricing there.

 

[spookymulder84]

You're very welcome! The X2HR is superior to the X3, in my opinion.

The Sundara is worth the splurge--it's incredible for its price.

If you're open to used, the Sundara can be had for ~$250. And it's generally available open box direct from Hifiman for $300.

Not sure about the used market in Croatia or pricing there.

Thank you for the recommendation! I ordered the Philips Fidelio X2HR headphones 08.02. night, I got them 10.02. in the morning... I can't believe the Amazon shipping, it would take as much or even longer to order them within the country...

I didn't have so much time but I did try the headphones for couple of hours. At first I was kinda disappointed by them, thinking they're not much better than the Presonus HD7 I have. But then I decided to chill and try more music, and I was slowly realizing how wrong I really was. I suppose I was expecting something completely different, more lower bass, something I would more likely experience with closed back headphones or smth, I wasn't sure what to expect. But yeah, soon I realized how good they really are.

They're punchy, they're clean, the female voices are amazing and they work very well with a ton of sounds playing at the same time. They're all I've asked for. They don't have any issues playing a lot of fast kicks without them merging into eachother, every kick having a strong sound.

They can be loud, FiiO E10k seems to even push them to their limits, so I leave the Gain lever turned off.

Some music that doesn't sound good or dynamic... I suppose is just the music itself, especially the older albums from Ex Yu, the newer ones usually sound better.

Some of the descriptions I can use for them while reading through the "Describing sound Glossary" (at least the stuff I can somewhat understand)
Aggressive 3/5
Bassy 3/5
Clear 4/5
Cool 3/5
Fast 4/5
Thin 3/5

They're definitely something and are worth the price for sure! They're also very comfortable and cool looking, though a lot of crap has already caught onto the ear pads lol. For now I feel like these are the best headphones that I'll ever need and these has quenched some of my curiosity... but there's still some curiosity left on how do other headphones sound. I hope that some day I'll be within budget capabilities for Sundara, R70X or some other headphones, though I would be already happy enough just to get a chance to try them.

 

[msing539]

I am really happy you like them--they're not perfect, for sure, but at they're price, I still feel they're one of the best recommendations. It is also possible to EQ them on PC...

Here's a list of Oratory1990 presets for Equalizer APO: https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets#wiki_full_list_of_eq_settings.3A

This will bump the low end and help smooth out the upper mid range for you.

 

[msing539]

And with regards to curiosity of other headphones, you'll find that as you move up, you might gain additional clarity, soundstage, timbre, bass slam, etc. depending on what you choose.

Some headphones are stronger in certain areas than others. And you should really seek to find the best in your budget based on what you listen to. That last part is most important because certain headphones do better with certain genres.

The logical planar starting point is the Sundara, but the XS is only $150 more and worth the jump for many.

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

For moderate listening levels there is a used Sennheiser HD650 in the classifieds if you want.

 

[spookymulder84]

I am really happy you like them--they're not perfect, for sure, but at they're price, I still feel they're one of the best recommendations. It is also possible to EQ them on PC...

Here's a list of Oratory1990 presets for Equalizer APO: https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets#wiki_full_list_of_eq_settings.3A

This will bump the low end and help smooth out the upper mid range for you.

Not bad! It did just what you said! The preset sounds quite nice. I've installed EasyEffects on EndeavourOS. I've also picked the Low Shelf type for the 105Hz, others are Bell because there's no Peak... I suppose that's the same thing?

 

[msing539]

I think that's the same thing but no experience on Linux EQing! Here's a screenshot from Equalizer APO out of Windows for your reference:

 

[spookymulder84]

For moderate listening levels there is a used Sennheiser HD650 in the classifieds if you want.

I'm good with the listening levels X2HR provide with FiiO E10k. I already got these but i wish I could try them all... is there such a thing as audiophile meeting points?

I think that's the same thing but no experience on Linux EQing! Here's a screenshot from Equalizer APO out of Windows for your reference:

Yeah, it took me a while to realize my EQ have reset half of the stuff for some reason... fixed it now

I have a Windows PC but I use Endeavour OS (with Gnome) on my 8yo+ laptop. It's also a good practice for me to try and move away from Windows as much as possible. Though I can't deny there's a lot of fiddling to do and there's lot less consistency of installing and using stuff when compared to Windows, especially since I'm not fluent with Linux. In Windows you can usually expect things to work while you install or use them, while on Linux you can bump into plenty of obstacles. But through years it's been getting simpler!

 

[msing539]

Ha! I expect less and less from Windows with each new version, at least in terms of reliability.

But you've got the eq sorted on the X2HR and liking it better?

 

[msing539]

@spookymulder84 just checking in to see if you had updated impressions on the X2HR.